Gabe Newell Emails a Random Fan Details About His Mongolian Throat Singing Journey

Gabe Newell has apparently reached a point where you can email him about an old story involving Mongolian throat singing and receive a surprisingly detailed breakdown of his technique.

The whole thing started after Counter-Strike co-creator Minh “Gooseman” Le told Indie Game Joe that Newell once became fascinated with throat singing after watching a documentary. According to Le, Newell spent months practicing it around Valve’s offices, including while walking through the hallways. Unfortunately for some, it was not a hobby Gabe kept to himself.

Le recalled Newell doing it daily and loudly enough that employees eventually started closing their office doors. He said the phase lasted around roughly five months. He also joked that the first time he heard it, he thought somebody was having a heart attack before seeing Newell casually walking down the hallway.

Someone decided this required further investigation and apparently asked the man himself via email.

X user @tbaszt emailed Newell directly to ask whether the story was actually true. Newell seemingly replied and instead of just confirming it, he gave a short history of his throat-singing career. The exchange was posted publicly on September 23.

Newell said he initially tried learning on his own before speaking with late American musician Paul Pena, who was himself well known for learning Tuvan throat singing. Newell described himself as “entirely self-taught,” adding that “it shows.”

Newell said he practiced sygyt and kargyraa, among other styles. Kargyraa produces the extremely low, growling tone most people probably associate with throat singing, while sygyt emphasizes a much higher, whistle-like overtone. According to Newell, he eventually reached the point where his practicing became “really… annoying.”

The best part is that this apparently wasn’t just some forgotten phase from decades ago. Newell said he still occasionally returns to throat singing and has to spend a couple of weeks conditioning his throat when he does. He considers kargyraa relatively easy, but says getting a clean sygyt takes longer.

There is one small issue with this harmless and funny exchange. The public evidence for Newell’s response is a screenshot posted by the fan rather than a reliable source. Its contents lines up closely with Le’s account, right down to Newell admitting he managed to annoy the people around him but it could still be a fabrication.

Regardless, one must wonder if this incident means that even more fans will bombard Gabe’s email address asking random questions about his life. Who knows how many will receive a response back.